We are the bosses of self-driving cars, say the feds.

Autonomous cars are already steering around the streets of a few U.S. cities, like Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Mountain View, California (home of Google). Any rules have been left to the city governments to sort out. That is, until Tuesday when the Department of Transportation released the first federal guidelines.

Even though these guidelines are “suggestions” rather than hard and fast rules, the fed’s willingness to wade in and set them this early in the game means you can bet the federal government will get way more involved in how cities and states handle autonomous cars.

In the past, the feds have stepped in only when obvious design flaws have threatened public safety. This is something new, an attempt to guide new automotive technology through its awkward, experimental stage and into the real world.